‘I knew lots of Tjaarts’: Schalk Bezuidenhout on his ‘lekker common’ character in ‘Die Kantoor’

In his latest stint behind the cameras, award-winning stand-up comedian Schalk Bezuidenhout has been raking in rave reviews for his portrayal of the “lekker common” Tjaart in Die Kantoor.

Arguably one of Mzansi’s favourite funnymen in the stand-up arena, Schalk has been quietly building an equally impressive showreel as an actor over the years.

He’s earned four Safta nominations in eight years, for roles like Johan Niemand in Kanarie, Attie in Taktiek, and Danny in Hotel, which won him the Best Supporting Actor – TV Comedy prize.

Schalk Bezuidenhout trades stand-up comedy for 9-5 laughs in ‘Die Kantoor’

Even so, none of those roles prepared fans for Schalk’s almost unrecognisable turn in Die Kantoor, the Afrikaans adaptation of the international TV hit series The Office.

Since its debut on kykNET and Showmax in January, Die Kantoor has been praised for capturing the cringe comedy that made the original series a global hit – while giving it an unmistakably South African take.

The Rassie Erasmus of polony who runs ‘Die Kantoor’

Die Kantoor also stars 2025 Fleur du Cap and Woordfees winner Albert Pretorius (Niggies; Nêrens, Noord-Kaap) as Flip, the office manager at polony specialists Deluxe Processed Meats. 

Inspired equally by Rassie Erasmus and Leon Schuster, Flip welcomes a documentary crew to record his rise to greatness…and his occasional pranks.

He’s living his own Chasing The Sun. Everyone else is just trying to survive eight hours without throttling anyone.

‘My Kempton Park days’: Schalk Bezuidenhout talks Tjaart

Schalk – who plays Tjaart, Flip’s sidekick – spoke about Die Kantoor ahead of jetting off to Australasia and Europe next week with his new stand-up show, Hey Hey Divorcé, inspired by life after his 2024 divorce.

Instead of Schalk’s trademark jerseys, moustache and unruly head of curls, Tjaart sports an army cut and beard. Think Gareth and Dwight in the British and American versions, completely reimagined in the “Kempton Park way”.

“He’s almost the opposite of Danny from Hotel, who was naive and cute,” says Schalk.

“Tjaart is divorced with a kid, he’s a chain-smoker, and he’s never sitting. He’s lekker common; I really leant on my Kempton Park days, and some of the people I grew up with. I knew lots of Tjaarts.”

Role as ‘Die Kantoor’ co-creator

Schalk co-wrote seven of the episodes for Die Kantoor alongside multi-award-winning head writer and director Bennie Fourie, who was one of Schalk’s groomsmen in 2022 .

“When I’m acting, I normally come in right at the end to help make some of the jokes a bit stronger, but this was actually the first time I helped write from the beginning with Bennie,” says Schalk.

“He did the hard work: I was more the guy who threw ideas around over a glass of wine and made jokes while he sorted out the story and the structure. So we made a good team.” 

Adapting ‘The Office’: ‘I’m a purist’ – Schalk Bezuidenhout

Schalk admits they felt the pressure adapting such an iconic mockumentary.

“People have very high expectations. I’m a purist, so I always point out the British version is the original, but South Africans know the American version better, and Michael Scott is so loved as the boss.

“We really wanted to make something that can stand alongside the American and British versions and be just as good and just as cringey and just as funny.”

Biggest challenge? Winning over ‘The Office’ fans with own original take

Schalk says their biggest challenge was to win over fans of The Office.

“The fine line we had to walk was that we needed to stay close enough to the original that it still felt like The Office but different enough that it felt like an original show.

“Even though it’s part of a franchise, we really wanted to make it an original series, that was full of our people and could only have been set in South Africa.” 

He adds, “I do find it funny that people say, ‘Oh, The Office in Afrikaans. Can’t we make something original?’ But when it was Idols SA, everyone went, ‘Yay, Idols is here.’.”

‘Die Kantoor’: The who’s who of the ensemble cast

The ensemble cast also includes Carl Beukes, Daniah de Villiers, Gert du Plessis, Ilse Oppelt, Lida Botha, Mehboob Bawa and Sipumziwe Lucwaba, who were all encouraged to improvise lines.

“Bennie loves improvisation, and so many of the best moments came from that spontaneity,” comments Schalk.

Pushing the boundaries

He admits a lot of the jokes walk a fine line.

“I’m a big fan of humour that pushes the boundaries,” the comedian says.

“The key is to make the audience laugh at these characters’ ignorance, rather than with them. So a lot of the comedy comes from the reactions of the rest of the cast to the things Flip and Tjaart say and do.”

That 9-5 office feeling: Schalk Bezuidenhout’s solitaire binge

When they weren’t in scenes, the cast had to stay at their desks, almost like background extras, to maintain the feeling of a 9-5 office.

“I played so much solitaire that Bennie actually had to force me to delete it, because it was taking so much of my attention,” says Schalk.

• New episodes of ‘Die Kantoor’ are released on Tuesdays on Showmax and Sundays at 8pm on kykNET (DStv Channel 144). It’s also on DStv Stream.

‘Die Kantoor’: Episode 3 sneak peek